Legacy RecordingsOn September 7, a couple of weeks before the end of his Homeward Bound — The Farewell Tour, Paul Simon will release a new studio album called In the Blue Light. The 10-track collection features new versions of some of the folk-rock legend’s favorite tunes from his back catalog, incorporating jazz and classical influences.
“This album consists of songs that I thought were almost right, or were odd enough to be overlooked the first time around,” explains the 76-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer. “Re-doing arrangements, harmonic structures, and lyrics that didn’t make their meaning clear, gave me time to clarify in my own head what I wanted to say, or realize what I was thinking and make it more easily understood.”
Among the many guest artists who contributed to the album are such respected jazz artists as Wynton Marsalis, Jack DeJohnette, Bill Frisell, and John Patitucci, as well as the New York City chamber-music ensemble yMusic. In addition, Simon’s wife, singer/songwriter Edie Brickell, adds finger snaps to a new rendition of Paul’s 19734 gem “One Man’s Ceiling Is Another Man’s Floor.” Meanwhile, Simon’s longtime guitarist Vincent Nguini, who died last year, lent his talents to an update of Paul’s 2000 tune “Darling Lorraine.”
In the Blue Light was co-produced by Simon and Roy Halee, who has worked with Paul since the Simon & Garfunkel days.
Simon reflects on the project in a video preview of the album that you can watch on his official VEVO YouTube channel. “It’s a very interesting process to be able to go back and [rework my compositions],” he says. “Songs all change. They all evolve into something else.”
In the Blue Light is available for pre-order now.
Here’s the album’s full track list:
“One Man’s Ceiling Is Another Man’s Floor”
“Love”
“Can’t Run But”
“How the Heart Approaches What It Yearns”
“Pigs, Sheep and Wolves”
“René and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog After the War”
“The Teacher”
“Darling Lorraine”
“Some Folks’ Lives Roll Easy”
“Questions for the Angels”
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